Time to Look at Race Cars This Weekend in Maine

09Jan

An annual winter time tradition will continue this weekend in the Pine Tree State of Maine. For the 31st consecutive year, race fans from throughout the Northeast will venture to the Augusta Civic Center, located in the state capital of Augusta, for the 31st Annual Northeast Motorsports Expo.

The show founded by Tim Attaya, who promoted the show for 21 years, changed hands in 2009 and is now promoted by Mainely Motorsports host Steve Perry. Each year, Perry assembles a show that helps remind race fans that the upcoming racing season isn’t that far away.

This year’s show will once again be a three-day event beginning on Friday, January 11 and ending Sunday, January 13.

A healthy list of 48 exhibits/vendors are currently listed on the Northeast Motorsports Expo website. The list of vendors includes everything from race tracks to chassis manufacturers to… fudge. Yes, we’re talking about “The Fudge Lady” that takes care of all of those in attendance with a sweet tooth.

New to this year’s show will be a complete at-show assembly of a pavement Super Late Model. Dream Ride Racing driver Jacob Dore will spearhead the build as it goes from a bare frame to a running race car that he will use to compete in select Super Late Model races in 2019. A Special Olympian will be part of each new crew that comes in to help with the assembly.

Another new feature of this year’s show will be the Hot Spots Seminar, a roundtable discussion in which media members will discuss the hot topics in today’s short track racing world. The roundtable discussion on Saturday night at 5 p.m. will feature Mainely Motorsports host Steve Perry, Speed51.com’s Brandon Paul and others.

Once again this year, Shawn Waddell, the owner of Waddell Communications and championship spotter for the late Ted Christopher, will be hosting a spotter seminar on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

As is tradition, the annual awards ceremony to recognize drivers that excelled during the 2018 season will be held Friday night at approximately 7 p.m. At that time, show awards will also be handed out.

For the third consecutive year, Speed51 will once again have a booth at the Northeast Motorsports Expo. This will give race fans an opportunity to sign up for their Speed51 Network subscription and enjoy a year full of short track racing videos. The show will also be the first opportunity for Northeast race fans to get their hands on the new line of Speed51’s #MoreShortTracks apparel.

The doors for the 31st Annual Northeast Motorsports Expo will open Friday at 4:30 p.m. and close at 9:30 p.m. Doors open at 10 a.m. Saturday and close at 9 p.m. Sunday’s show begins at 10 a.m. and closes at 3 p.m.

Adult tickets are $10, Seniors $8, Children 6-12 $5 and children five and under are free. Three-day adult tickets can be purchased for $20.

The Augusta Civic Center is located at 76 Community Dr. in Augusta, ME.